PUNCTUATION RULES
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Punctuation is very important in writing.
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Common punctuation marks in English are as
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follows:
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Use a period:
a. At the end of a statement or command.
E.g TURN ON THE TEVEVISION.
b. After most abbreviations, eg,
Mr.
Ms.
Dr.
EXECEPT:
UN, NATO, IBM, AIDS
E.g Mr. Lupembe was happy to see his
wife
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If the last word in the sentence ends in a period, do not
follow it with another period.
E.g I know that M.D. She is my sister-in-law.
Please shop,
cook, etc. I will do the laundry.
Use the period after an indirect question.
E.g He asked where his suitcase was.
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Use a question mark:
After a direct question.
E.g Are
you coming with me?
Will you
go with me?
After a tag questions:
Eg, He is
the President, Isn’t he?
You do
care, don't you?
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NOTE: Don’t put a
question mark at the end of an indirect question. Eg
I asked my sister if she had a date.
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Use a comma before a
conjunction (and, or, so) that separate two independent clauses. Eg.
She wanted
to learn to cook, so she decided to buy herself a book.
Use a comma to separate
interrupting expressions from the rest of the sentence. Eg.
Do you know, by the way, what time is it?
- Use a comma after yes and no in answers Eg.
Yes, my father is a doctor.
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Use
a comma after each item in a series of at least three items.
– E.g I still need to take a
test, write an essay, and check out a book.
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Use
a comma after the month and date.
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E.g
Martina's birthday is February 20, 1995.
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Note:
No comma in date like 20 February 1965.
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Use
a comma after the greeting in a personal letter.
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E.g
Dear Aunt Sheila,
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Use
a comma after the closing of a letter.
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E.g
Sincerely,
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Use the quotation marks at the beginning and at
the end of direct quotation. Eg.
He said, “I am going to get married” She asked,
"Will you still be my friend?“
Use single quotation marks for quotes within
quotes
He said,
"Danea said, 'Do not treat me that way.'"
Use the quotation marks before and after title of stories,
articles, songs and TV shows
Do you
want to watch “Friends” on TVs?
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Is used before a list or an explanation that is preceded
by a clause that can stand by itself.
Eg. The committee includes
the following: James,Peter, Anna. Use a colon between numerals indicating hours
and minutes.
E.g School
starts at 8:05 a.m.
When mentioning a volume
number and page number, use a colon between the two items.
E.g You
will find information about Mexico in Grolier Encyclopedia 17:245.
Use a colon after the greeting of a business letter.
E.g Dear
Sir:
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Are used to help sort out a monster list.
Eg. There were participants from Nairobi, Kenya;
Kampala, Uganda; Kinshasa, DRC.
Use a semicolon to join two independent clauses.
E.g Salma
read a book; then she did a book report.
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Used to indicate possession.
Eg. The
man’s coat, Jame’s wife, my cousin’s parents
Use an apostrophe to show where letters have been omitted, or left
out.
E.g I
don't think I can do this.
She’s my sister,
I’m tired
You’re kind.
Use an apostrophe when you leave out the first two numbers of a year.
E.g She
was in the class of '93.
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- Capitalize the first word of every sentence.
- Capitalize the first word of a quotation.
- She said “Mtoto
wa mwenzio ni wako”
- Capitalize the names of
people including initials and titles of address.
- Capitalize names of God, eg
God, Allah, Jesus Christ, etc
- Capitalize the names of countries, state, province,
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regions,
cities, lakes, rivers, mountains.
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Capitalize the
names of the days of the week, special days (holidays), months of the year, historic
events, and eras.
– E.g Tuesday, Fourth of July
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